is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by

Akimi Yoshida is a Japanese manga artist and a graduate of Musashino Art University. She made her professional debut in 1977 with the short story , published in '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine. Yoshida is best known for the crime thriller series '' Bana ...

, serialized in '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' from 1978 to 1981.

Synopsis

In 1975, wealthy delinquent Heath Swanson drops out of high school and runs away from his home in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

to live in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. While traveling across the United States, he stays in rural

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, where he meets a group of individuals who decide to join Heath on his journey to New York.

Characters

; : The protagonist of the series. The youngest child of a wealthy and broken California family, his absentee father and estranged mother led him to become a

delinquent Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fa ...

and drug addict. His decision to become a runaway and relocate to New York City acts as a catalyst for the events of the series. ; : A Puerto Rican teenager who Heath meets in Texas. He has lived a hard life in contrast to Heath's wealthy upbringing – he is impoverished,

illiterate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

, and previously worked as a prostitute – but possesses a kind and cheerful disposition. ; : A painter and interior designer who meets Heath during his travels. A former drug addict, he assists Heath in his rehabilitation. ; : A teenage con artist who Heath meets and befriends in Texas while staying at a hotel owned by Butch's mother. ; : Butch's sister, who falls in love with Heath after meeting him in Texas.

Media

Manga

Yoshida, who was twenty years old when ''California Story'' was initially published, has said that she drew inspiration for the series from American New Wave cinema (particularly ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'') and the Japanese television drama ' (''Kizu Darake no Tenshi''). The series was serialized in the

manga magazine Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

'' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' from February 1978 until December 1981, and was collected by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the H ...

as eight ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' volumes published from November 1979 to April 1982 (listed below). The series has been reprinted as four hardcover bunkobon volumes published from December 1988 to March 1989, and as a four-volume

softcover A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

bunkobon set published in November 1994.

Stage play

In 2008, the theater company produced a theatrical adaptation of ''California Story'' written and directed by , which was staged at the Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from February 27 to March 9 of that year. The play, which featured a rotating all-male cast, starred Tsuyoshi Hayashi and as Heath, and Shingo Nakagawa and as Eve. A revival of the play was staged at The Pocket in Tokyo from July 20 to August 5, 2018, with Kurata returning as director.

Other media

, a ''California Story''

art book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...

, was published by

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...

in 1982.

Reception and legacy

The series has been praised by critics for its unvarnished portrayal of the United States in the 1970s, and has been noted for its frank depiction of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

, poverty, and drug use. The series is regarded as a precursor to Yoshida's later manga series '' Banana Fish'', with both works sharing a New York City setting and a thematic focus on youth romance, urban drama, and homoeroticism.

References

External links

*
''California Story''
at

''California Story'' 2008 theatrical adaptation
official website
''California Story'' 2018 theatrical adaptation
official website {{Betsucomi 1978 manga 2008 plays Akimi Yoshida Crime in anime and manga Drama anime and manga LGBT in anime and manga Shogakukan manga Shōjo manga United States in fiction